Felt ring embedded in wax and method of using



H J- TURNER March 8, 1966 FELT RING EMBEDDED IN WAX AND METHOD OF USING Filed NOV. 18, 1963 r w, Z Ma W United States Patent 3,238,538 FELT RING EMBEDDED IN WAX AND METHOD OF USING Horace J. Turner, Rolling Hills, Calif, assignor toDe Best Manufacturing Co., Inc., Gardenia, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Nov. 18, 1963, Ser. No. 324,296 7 Claims. (Cl. 4-252) This invention relates to plumbing installations, with special reference to toilet bowl installations, and is directed to means for providing a fluid-tight joint between the horn of a toilet bowl and an associated soil pipe that terminates in a vertical wall at a distance above the floor surface.

A conventional installation of rough plumbing for mounting a toilet bowl on a vertical wall provides a soil pipe end or nipple at the vertical wall surface. The task of installing the toilet bowl typically comprises suitably anchoring the toilet bowl in position with a suitable gasket, usually a felt gasket, interposed between the toilet bowl and the soil pipe end and then tightening the bowl against the soil pipe end to place the gasket under suflicient permanent compression to make the joint fluid-tight.

This task is diflicult for a single craftsman to carry out because to complete the task expeditiously the toilet bowl must be manually supported while the step of anchoring the toilet bowl in place is carried out and while the sealing gasket is simultaneously held accurately in the desired position for the sealing action. Since eflicient performance of the task requires at least three hands, the installation procedure is usually carried out by a team of two men.

The present invention provides means and a method to enable a single craftsman to carry out the whole installation task in an easy and time-saving manner.

The first step in the new method is to mold an annular member or ring of wax-like material with a suitable deformable porous sealing gasket, such as a felt gasket, embedded therein. Since the wax-like material is melted when it is poured into the mold the molding operation has a dual function of both embedding the felt gasket and impregnating the felt gasket with wax.

In the joint construction the horn of the toilet bowl which forms the outlet to the soil pipe is telescoped into the soil pipe end. The wax-like ring carrying the embedded impregnated felt washer is simply telescoped over the toilet bowl horn in a manner to cause the wax ring to adhere to the horn and thus be held in accurate position for making the seal. To cause the wax ring to adhere to the toilet bowl horn, the craftsman may simply rotate the wax ring under pressure for a quarter or a half turn. When a plurality of screw means for mounting the toilet bowl are tightened, they cause the end of the soil pipe nipple to penetrate the wax ring and make sealing abutment with the felt gasket under sufficient pressure to make the joint fluid-tight.

The features and advantages of the invention may be understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, which is to be regarded as merely illustrative:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the wax ring with a portion of the wax ring broken away to reveal the felt washer;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken along the diameter 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of an annular mold for forming the wax ring, the view showing how a parting agent is sprayed onto the inner surface of the mold in preparation for the molding operation;

FIG. 4 illustrates the next step of pouring a quantity of melted wax into the mold, the quantity being insuflicient to fill the mold;

FIG. 5 is a similar view showing how the felt washer.

is placed on the wax;

FIG. 6 is a similar view showing how an additional quantity of the wax is introduced into the mold to cover.

the felt washer;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of an installed toilet bowl with parts broken away; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the joint between the toilet bowl horn and the end of a soil pipe nipple.

The steps of fabricating the wax ring with the felt gasket therein are illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 6. When the inner surfaces of an annular mold 10 have been sprayed with a parting agent as shown in FIG. 3 a quantityof the melted wax is introduced in a manner indicatedin FIG. 4. The wax is of a well known composition that is commonly employed for installing toilet bowls. The wax is, of course, introduced into the mold 10 in a melted state but soon begins to congeal or solidify to form an initial wax body 12. FIG. 5 shows how a felt gasket 14 is positioned concentrically on the initial wax body 12. An additional quantity of melted wax is then poured into the mold to fill the mold as shown in FIG. 6 and thus form the desired wax ring 15 with the felt gasket 14 embedded therein. The addition of the second quantity of wax in melted state results in the felt gasket 14 becoming thor oughly impregnated with the wax.

The configuration of the wax ring 15 is shown in FIGS. land 2. It is to be noted that the wax ring has a flat face 16 and an opposite rounded face 18 and that the inner circumferential surface 20 is flared in a curved manner to merge with the rounded face 18.

FIG. 7 shows a completely installed toilet bowl 22 with the horn 24 of the toilet bowl making a fluid-tight connection with a soil pipe nipple. FIG. 8 shows how in a well known manner the soil pipe nipple 25 is provided with an end fitting 26 which may be regarded as a part of the soil pipe nipple. The fitting 26 telescopes into the soil pipe nipple 25 and is provided with a suitable O-ring 28 to serve as a seal. The fitting 26 has a radial flange 30 which overhangs the end of the soil pipe nipple and terminates in a cylindrical flange 32 which is dimensioned to surround the toilet bowl horn 24 with liberal radial clearance.

As shown in FIG. 8 the rounded face 18 and the inner circumferential surface 20 of the wax ring 15 conform in curvature to the curved outer circumferential surface 34 of the toilet bowl horn 24.

The toilet bowl 22 is mounted in a well knownmanner by an upper pair of bolts 35 provided with nuts 36 and a lower pair of bolts 38 provided with similar nuts 40. The bolts 35 anchor the toilet bowl to an upper bracket means 42 that engages the upright soil pipe 44 in the wall. In like manner the lower bolts 38 anchor the toilet bowl to a lower bracket means 45 that is also anchored to the soil pipe 44.

In preparation for mounting the toilet bowl 22 on the vertical wall 46, the craftsman inserts the fitting 26 into the soil pipe nipple 25 and then mounts the wax ring 26 on the horn 24 of the toilet bowl 22. The wax is of an adhesive character and may be caused to adhere firmly to the toilet bowl horn by simply rotating the wax ring a few degrees under manual axial pressure. The craftsman then proceeds to anchor the toilet bowl into position by means of the bolts 35 and 38 without any need of paying any special attention to the wax ring 15. The tightening of the bolts 35 and 38 forces the radial flange 30 of the fiting 26 into firm abutment against the end of the soil pipe nipple. Continued tightening of the nuts 36 and 40 forces the toilet bowl further towards the wall with the Patented Mar. 8,1966

consequence that the cylindrical flange 32 of the fitting 26 is forced to penetrate into the fiat face 16 of the wax ring into sealing abutment against the felt washer 14. At

the same time the rounded face 18 of the wax ring is.

placed under sealing pressure against the corresponding surface 48 of the toilet bowl, the sealing pressure resulting in a certain amount of radial deformation of the Wax ring.

It is apparent that the invention saves time and cost since it enables a single craftsman to install the toilet bowl instead of requiring two craftsmen. In fact, the single craftsman can install the toilet bowl in about the same. time as would be required bytwo craftsmen Without the benefit of the wax ring with the felt gasket embedded therein.

, My description-in specific detail of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention will suggest various changes substitutions and other departures from my disclosures Within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A sealing means for a joint between the horn of the toilet bowl and an end of a soil pipe, comprising:

an annular member of soft adhesive wax-like material,

said member being deformable under pressure into adhering engagement with one of said horn and end of a soil pipe whereby merely pressing the annular member against said one of the horn and end of the soil pipe temporarily bonds the annular member thereto; and

a sealing gasket embedded inthe annular member for sealing engagement with the end of the soil pipe in response to mechanical tightening of the toilet bowl against the end of the soil pipe.

2. A sealing means as set forth in claim 1 in which said gasket is a porous ring impregnated with the wax-like material of the annular member.

3. A sealing means as set forth in claim 2 in which said gasket is made of fibrous material.

4. A seal means for a joint between an end of a soil pipe and a horn of curved profile of a toilet bowl, comprising:

an annular member of soft adhesive wax-like material,

said member being deformable and dimensioned to embrace the horn of the toilet bowl and shaped to conform to the curvature in profile of the horn whereby the annular member may be mounted on the anchoring the toilet bowl in position to cooperate with the end of the soil pipe; and

mechanically tightening the anchorage to cause the toilet bowl horn to clamp the ring against the soil pipe end and to cause the soil pipe end to penetrate further into the ring for sealing engagement with the embedded sealing gasket.

6. A method of assembling a sealed joint between the horn of a toilet bowl and the end of a soil pipe, including the steps of:

placing a porous compressible ring-shaped gasket in a ring-shaped mold; pouring melted wax-like material into the mold to impregnate the gasket and to form a ring of the waxlike material with the gasket embedded therein;

telescoping the ring over the horn of the toilet bowl and pressing the ring into adhesion with the outer surface of the horn to hold the embedded scaling gasket in position for cooperation with the end of the soil pipe;

anchoring the toilet bowl in position to cooperate with the end of the soil pipe; and

mechanically tightening the anchorage to cause the toilet bowl horn to clamp the ring against the soil pipe end and to cause the soil pipe end to penetrate further into the ring for sealing engagement with the embedded sealing gasket.

7. A method of assembling a sealed joint between the horn of a toilet bowl and the end of a soil pipe, including toilet bowl horn and may be manually pressed into adhesive engagement with the horn; and

a sealing gasket embedded in the annular member for sealing engagement with the end of the soil .pipe in response to mechanical tightening of the toilet bowl against the end of the soil pipe.

.. 5. A method of assembling a sealed joint between the the steps of:

pouring a quantity of melted wax into a ring-shaped mold with the quantity insufficient to fill the mold; placing a porous compressible ring-shaped gasket on the wax in the mold;

pouring additional melted wax-like material into the mold to impregnate the gasket and to join with the previously poured wax to form a ring of the wax-like material with the gasket embedded therein;

telescoping the ring-over the horn of the toilet bowl and pressing the ring into adhesion with the outer surface of the horn to hold the embedded sealing gasket in position for cooperation with the end of the soil pipe;

anchoring the toilet bowl in position to cooperate with the end of the soil pipe; and

mechanically tightening the anchorage to cause the toilet bowl horn to clamp the ring against the soil pipe end and to cause the soil pipe end to penetrate further into the ring for sealing engagement with the embedded sealing gasket.

8/1959 Clifford. 3/1961 Turner et al.

LAWRENCE D.4GEIG ER, Primary Examiner. H. KLINKSIEK, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A SEALING MEANS FOR A JOINT BETWEEN THE HORN OF THE TOILET AND AN END OF A SOIL PIPE, COMPRISING: AN ANNULAR MEMBER OF SOFT ADHESIVE WAX-LIKE MATERIAL, SAID MEMBER BEING DEFORMABLE UNDER PRESSURE INTO ADHERING ENGAGEMENT WITH ONE OF SAID HORN AND END OF A SOIL PIPE WHEREBY MERELY PRESSING THE ANNULAR MEMBER AGAINST SAID ONE OF THE HORN AND END OF THE SOIL PIPE TEMPORARILY BONDS THE ANNULAR MEMBER THERETO; AND A SEALING GASKET EMBEDDED IN THE ANNULAR MEMBER FOR SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE END OF THE SOIL PIPE IN 